KALAMAZOO, MI -- A new business labeling itself an “urban micro-grocery” plans to open in March to offer grocery essentials to those living and working in downtown Kalamazoo.

Those behind the Market on Michigan Ave (MoMA) announced plans to open the new business at 119 E. Michigan Ave. inside the historic Metropolitan Center building in downtown Kalamazoo. MoMA plans to occupy an expanded space that will also include an adjacent address, 121 E. Michigan Ave., formerly a Biggby Coffee location. The coffee chain’s downtown store closed in November.

The store will offer a wide variety of fresh and dry goods, a deli, beer and wine section and basic household necessities, according to a MoMA news release. Products will include locally sourced and sustainably farmed produce and meats.

The space housing MoMA includes about 4,000 square feet for first-floor retail and another 3,000 square feet for basement storage. The store could be open as soon as March 1, co-owner Josh Marunde said.

Marunde said becoming a grocery store owner was not “necessarily on the road-map of life” for him until he and his wife moved to downtown Kalamazoo and noticed a need for produce and other goods within a walkable distance.

The lack of downtown grocery options inspired Marunde, his wife Jess and his friend Zach King to open MoMa together.

“We decided to go after the problem," Marunde said. "We’ve always had a passion to see the community, the downtown especially, thrive.”

Jess and Josh are also the current owners of the gym Kalamazoo Strength and Conditioning: CrossFit 269.

MoMA will occupy two of the four historic buildings Portage developer MAVCON Properties LLC acquired from Downtown Tomorrow Inc. in 2012.

“This is exactly the type of mercantile we wanted in these buildings," MAVCON President James Dally said. “It’s a need downtown so it should be a double win for the community.”

A W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research study published this year, not counting The People’s Food Co-Op or Park Street Market, called downtown Kalamazoo a “food desert,” noting the areas lack of a full-service grocery store near Bronson Methodist Hospital. The study recommended a public market open somewhere in the Kalamazoo Valley Community College/Bronson Healthy Living Campus.

The announcement about a new market in downtown Kalamazoo comes one day after Irving’s Market and Deli announced to customers it will close on Dec. 31, with plans to move to a new downtown location. The automated text message said Irving’s new location will offer a larger space and more options, including groceries.